ABOUT CHILDREN'S

Services Overview

The Children’s Administration (CA) administers child welfare and licensing services through forty-four local offices located in six geographic regions. Headquarters Divisions were realigned in July 2004 to support implementation of Kids Come First Phase II. The realignment reduced areas of overlap, increased integration of work areas and interdivisional collaboration and produced a stronger, more effective and efficient headquarters.

The Field Operations Division provides direct client service though Children and Family Services and Licensed Resources. The Practice Improvement Division is responsible for quality assurance activities, staff training and development, training for foster, kinship care providers and adoptive parents and serves approximately 300 people per quarter through an interactive training web site for resource families. CA Headquarters provides statewide coordination of activities, program development,field support and oversight through the Management Services Division, Division of Program and Policy, External Affairs Division and Information Technology Division.

Children and Family Services (CFS) is the largest provider of direct client services. Children and families enter CFS through three primary program areas, Child Protective Services (CPS), Child Welfare Services (CWS) and Family Reconciliation Services (FRS). These programs are responsible for the investigation of child abuse and neglect complaints, child protection, family preservation, family reconciliation, foster care, group care, in-home services, independent living, and adoption services for children age 0 to 18 years.

Licensed Resources (LR) investigates allegations of child abuse and neglect in DSHS licensed, certified and state-operated care facilities for children (including the biological and adopted children of licensees). LR is responsible for licensing foster care and group care facilities, as well as child placing agencies in Washington State. LR also monitors the quality of care offered by these providers.

Programs Offered by Children and Family Services

Child Protective Services (CPS) - Child Protective Services provides 24 hour, seven day a week intake, screening and investigative services for reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. CPS social workers investigate appropriate referrals to assess the safety and protection needs of children and, when necessary, intervene by providing services designed to increase safety and protect children from further harm. Law enforcement, courts, and community teams are also critical members of the child protection system. Each has a distinct role and is integral to the checks and balances designed to protect children from abuse and neglect and to safeguard families from unnecessary disruption.

When it appears that a child is in danger of being harmed or has already been seriously abused or neglected, CPS, with a police officer or court order putting the child in protective custody, places the child with a relative or in foster care. By law, a child can be kept in protective custody for no more than 72 hours, excluding weekends and legal holidays. If the child is not returned to the parents or some other voluntary arrangement made within 72 hours, the matter must be reviewed by a court. If risk warrants ongoing placement, dependencies must be established in court.

Child Welfare Services (CWS) - Child Welfare Services provides both permanency planning and intensive treatment services to children and families who may need help with chronic or serious problems which interfere with their ability to protect or parent children, such as on-going abuse and neglect or intensive medical needs. Child Welfare Services are provided to children and families when long-term services are needed beyond those available through Child Protective Services (CPS) or Family Reconciliation Services (FRS). Most children served in this program are dependents of the state, in out-of-home care, or legally free for adoption.

Family Reconciliation Services (FRS) - Family Reconciliation Services are voluntary services devoted to maintaining the family as a unit and preventing the out-of-home placement of adolescents. FRS is available to families seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Families requesting FRS are offered crisis stabilization services by CFS FRS staff. This service is referred to as Phase I. Families who need further intervention are referred to Phase II, which is contracted crisis counseling lasting up to 12 hours within a sixweek period.